Florida surgeon accused of fatally removing man’s liver instead of spleen has license suspended

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A Florida surgeon accused of removing a man's liver instead of his spleen during a surgery, causing the patient to bleed out on the operating table, has had his medical license suspended by the state.

In a damning emergency order from the Florida Department of Health, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky is said to have removed Alabama resident Bill Bryan's liver instead of his spleen in a "grievous medical error" that makes him an "immediate, serious danger" to the public.

The order details Shaknovsky's alleged "egregious conduct," saying he went to great lengths to cover up his mistake by fabricating medical records, lying about what happened and pressuring others to lie about what happened. 

Bryan, 70, died during surgery performed by Shaknovsky at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida, on August 21.

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Bill Bryan's (L) liver was removed instead of his spleen, leading to his death, according to a Florida State Department of Health emergency order. (Zarzaur Law Firm)

Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting their rental property in Destin on August 18 when Bryan began feeling pain in his side.

According to the order, Bryan arrived at the hospital and was told he was suffering from an enlarged spleen. Shaknovsky said Bryan needed his spleen removed immediately, but Bryan refused.

"We called Bill’s doctor, here at home in Northwest Alabama, and he told Bill that he would have surgeons here in North Alabama waiting when we got home," Beverly told local station WMBB. "I tried to convince Dr. Shaknovsky to let me take him home or arrange for him to be transported, but Dr. Shaknovsky said that Bill would bleed to death if he was moved." 

The order says after three days in the hospital, Shaknovsky continued to pressure Bryan to have surgery – and he eventually gave in.

The order says operating room staff were concerned that Shaknovsky "did not have the skill level to safely perform" the "complicated" procedure – but the operation went forward.

The order says Shaknovsky lied and gave several different accounts of what happened during the surgery, finally admitting that at one point during the operation he fired a stapling device "blindly" into the abdomen and removed an organ he "believed to be a spleen."

He claimed the spleen was grossly enlarged and deformed and that the liver was in an unusual location, which caused him to confuse the organs.

However, the state's order said witnesses in the operating room told a very different story. At one point, Shaknovsky identified a vessel he intended to cut and said he could feel it pulsing under his finger. According to the order, he told the staff member assisting him, "that’s scary."

The order details that after the organ was removed, Bryan began to severely hemorrhage and went into cardiac arrest. Despite this, the order says, Shaknovsky continued dissecting even though there was "no visibility" and he never called for a clamp or cauterizer. Witnesses confirmed that Shaknovsky "blindly" fired the stapling device into Bryan’s abdomen.

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Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, a surgeon at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, is accused of causing a tragic death in the operating room. (Zarzaur Law Firm)

The order says Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver but identified it as a spleen, despite the two organs being different sizes, colors and on totally different sides of the body.

"The staff looked at the readily-identifiable liver on the table and were shocked when Dr. Shaknovsky told them it was a spleen," the order reads. "One staff member felt sick to their stomach."

Shaknovsky claimed Bryan died from a "ruptured splenic artery aneurysm," and made several efforts to convince staff in the operating room that he was correct, even though they knew it wasn’t true.

Shaknovsky requested the organ that was removed be labeled a "spleen" and be sent to pathology. The order says the person responsible for labeling the organ knew it was not a spleen but did as they were instructed. 

After the "chaos of the surgery was over," Shaknovsky even went to pathology to look at the organ again, but refused to acknowledge his mistake, the order said. Instead, he fabricated his operative order in great detail, claiming specific ligaments and structures were dissected, but they were never touched.

Fox News Digital reviewed the pathology report from Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, and it confirmed the organ removed from Bryan was, in fact, his liver.

According to the state's order, removing Bryan's liver instead of his spleen was not Shaknovsky's first medical mistake. In May of 2023, Shaknovsky removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of the adrenal gland, the order said. Shaknovsky claimed the adrenal gland had "migrated" to a different part of the body when he was confronted about the mistake.

The order said the patient in that case suffered "long-term, permanent harm."

"Dr. Shaknovsky’s repeated egregious surgical errors resulted in significant patient harm coupled with his failure to take responsibility for these errors indicates that his reckless conduct is likely to continue," the order says. "Therefore, Dr. Shaknovsky’s continued practice as an osteopathic physician presents an immediate, serious danger to the health, welfare, and safety of the public."

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William "Bill" Bryan died when a surgeon mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen, "causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss." (Zarzaur Law Firm)

Beverly Bryan is pursing both criminal and civil proceedings in her husband's death, according to Zarzaur Law, the Florida-based firm representing the family. 

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital by Zarzaur Law, Beverly Bryan described her husband as a "homicide victim."

"I can say this. My family and I and friends in Walton County and the surrounding area that use that hospital are simply relieved that the Florida Board of Medicine has made the decision to suspend the medical license of Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky," she said. "We’re hoping that the board of medicine in Alabama will suspend or revoke his license as well; the sooner the better."

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast told Fox News Digital Shaknovsky was not an employee of the hospital. 

"The physician practiced at Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, but that is no longer the case. We have removed all of the physician's access to our facilities," a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement. "We have no comment regarding the physician’s license as it is under the purview of the State of Florida Department of Health."

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The hospital previously told Fox News Digital it was investigating Bryan's death, but said it does not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation. 

"We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event," Ascension Sacred Heart spokesperson Gary Nevolis said. "Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003. Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family."